A Regular Girl
by gingersnapdragon
Summary: OHmygoodness. this was so long ago. i published this in 6th grade or something. I can't even read it anymore. but if you like it. sure. go ahead. just don't critisize because i already know it's not me at my best. xDD
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Akari took off her mask and set it beside her computer and closed down The World on her computer screen. She yawned and walked sluggishly to her bed where she fell asleep instantly in the hot apartment room on a sultry, humid July evening.

"Dammit! It's already 9:30 am!"

Akari got out of bed and haphazardly folded her blanket. She quickly dressed in a turquoise cami and flung on beige short-shorts. She ran a comb through her straight chestnut colored hair. She sighed, Saturdays were always hard work. She headed for the door but then remembered to stuff her wallet in her back pocket, today was pay day. She was on her way to work at Café Himaka. Boys were always giving her a hard time there. It wasn't just the stupid pick-ups they tried on her that got her worried; she was part of a curse. If a person of the opposite gender hugged her she would turn into a Scorpion. She was "possessed" in a way, the spirit wasn't evil or bad or anything, it just made her…un-regular. Other girls had boyfriends who took them to see movies. The only people she could go to see the movies with were other family members who were possessed as well. She could hug her brothers and male relatives, but it wasn't the same, it didn't feel right, all of them, possessed by ancient zodiac spirits. She sometimes wished she were normal, but, it was pretty cool that she was able to turn into a scorpion, she had a killer pinch.

Akari grinned at the idea of turning into a scorpion on a first date. She turned the corner in her sports convertible and parallel parked in front of Café Himaka. Once she arrived in the kitchen she tied a bow at the back of her apron with Café Himaka embroidered in sky blue on the front. She put on her best smile and walked into the seating area with her head held high. She gasped, the Sohmas were here! Yuki Sohma and his cousin Kyo Sohma, with…who was that? Was it their dad, their uncle? Tohru walked in the door, she lived with the Sohmas since her mother had died. She happily walked over to greet Tohru coming in.

"Tohru! I never thought I'd see you here!"

"Akari! You work here? We usually come later, you probably weren't working."

They walked over to the table were the Sohmas were sitting.

"Akari, this is Yuki and Kyo Sohma."

"Uh-hum…" the other man cleared his throat obviously.

"Oh! And Shigure!" Tohru practically glowed as she introduced them.

"Hi, I'm Akari. Can I take your orders? My manager will get cross if she sees me socializing too much." She replied.

"I'll have a green tea, please." Yuki said softly, and smiled.

Akari smiled back. _Wow, he's cute._ She thought to herself.

"Coffee." Kyo barked out.

_What's his problem?_ She gave him a dirty look. He dirty-looked her back. She felt like sticking her tongue out, so she did. Tohru giggled.

"Kyo, don't be so mean! Don't treat Akari like that! She's my friend!"

Kyo just grunted in reply.

"I'd like to two fruit tarts and a chai latte. Thanks!" Shigure gave a sly look that confused her.

"Akari? Can I have a Vanilla Bean Latte?"

"Sure Tohru, I'll be right back."

She walked away thinking, the Sohmas sure were a strange group of people. Yuki was so soft spoken, and Kyo was so passive and she knew he probably had anger management problems. Shigure was just plain confusing. He was probably one of those old, perverted bachelors. She wondered if there were more Sohmas. They were interesting, her sister Tora would say that they had a special "vibe". She missed Tora, she had traveled to inner-city Tokyo with her brother Kiyoshi. Tora's sign was Aquarius, and Kiyoshi was a Taurus. She lived out in the country with the rest of her family, thought she had left the closed family home in Tatoshi valley a year ago. Tora had begged her to come to Tokyo with Kiyoshi and her, but she had declined. She planned to spend a worry free summer this year. Last year's summer had been a disaster, people had found out about the family curse. They had had to repress memories to stop the chaos. So, she had moved out into her own apartment to help prevent any more trouble. It had mostly been the two twins, Rika and Riku. They were Gemini together. They had been so eager to earn their new names, Riaka and Riuku. They had to prove themselves worthy of their new names; they went way too far and got the Shimura family into deep trouble that they barely got out of. She missed then all, but she also loved her new, independent life. She quickly prepared Tohru and the Sohma's orders on a tray with napkins and straws and left the kitchen.

Rejoining the Sohmas, she found another boy.

"Tohru?" she asked hesitantly. Yuki responded instead.

"Oh, this is Kurisu, he's a friend of Kyo and mine."

"Would you like anything?" she asked tentatively.

"Yea, can I have a frappechino?" Kurisu said, "And, call me Chris."

"Sure."

After getting Chris' order to him, Akari accepted an invitation for dinner at the Sohma house, where Tohru had lived since her mom had died. Then, Chris decided to invite them all to a restaurant out of town, in the outer-city Harushima instead. Everyone said yes, a chance to go into the city was always taken.


	2. A normal girl

Chris had cautioned everyone that this was a semi-formal good-bye party. He was leaving for boarding school, and since Akari and Tohru had been there he had decided to invite them as well. Akari loved how he smiled when he made the dress code for the dinner party. Girls had to wear dresses and guys had to wear suits. After showering, she pulled out a scarlet, strapless wrap dress that flared when she spun. She put on garnet earrings and a gold bracelet. She'd blown her layered hair dry and it was now carefully arranged to frame her face. She wondered what Tohru was going to wear. Probably something white…she hoped that she wasn't overdoing the whole formal part of semi-formal. She slipped on scarlet heels and a scarlet clutch bag with a gold clasp. She twirled in front of a full-length mirror, perfect. Now she had to wait for Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki to come pick her up. Chris would wait at the restaurant. He wanted to set things up, so that it would be perfect. She remembered his smile when she had finally accepted his invitation. The buzzer outside the door rang, and getting up, all thoughts of Chris were scattered.

"Are you ready? Kyo and Tohru are waiting in the car." Yuki stood in her doorway awkwardly. He looked at her down and up again.

"You look really nice."

He was so tall! Her head reached where his neck and shoulders met. He also looked really good in a suit, though he looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Yea, let's go..."

Yuki led the way down the stairs o the door of the apartment building. Tohru and Kyo were sitting inside his silver car. He opened the door for her to sit in the front with him.

"Hey Tohru, are you excited?" she turned in her seat.

"YEA! I love going into the city! We can shop after eating! Kyo loves shopping, right Ky-"

"Shut up…"

Kyo looked stunning in his black suit. It contrasted directly with his orange hair that was spiked to perfection.

"Is you hair natural?" she asked, staring speculatively at his hair.

"Of course it is! Did you think I dyed it? Girls are so stupid!"

"I wouldn't be talking sexist!" she stuck out her tongue.

Yuki reached out with his hand to cover her mouth.

"Mmmm!"

"Don't talk to orangey; he's in a bad mood. I dragged him to come with us."

"You damn Rat Yuki!"

"Kyo! Calm down" Tohru cried out desperately. Her arms encircled him to try and calm his rage. Poof! There was an orange cat in a profusely bad mood sitting on the leather seat.

"Oh….My…Gosh…"

Akari sat staring, in complete horror, at the orange cat sitting next to a blushing Tohru. Where was Kyo?!!?!!?

"He-he HE TURNED INTO A CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Girls are such idiots…" the cat mumbled.

Akari's jaw almost dropped clear off. Yuki smacked his forehead.

"THE CAT TALKED!!!"

Yuki parked the car at the road shoulder.

"Akari? Why don't you come with me? I'll explain everything to you."

He took her hand and partially dragged her out of the car and into the small side woods at the road-side. Akari was stunned, she was so confused. What was happening? Kyo was like her family! Why? How did he…Tohru hugged him…she fell backwards in a faint into Yuki's arms. Poof! He became a rat.

"Yuki!? You're a rat…"

"Yes, I am"

"You just….you talked."

"Yes, I did. Did you know that Shigure turns into a dog?"

Akari closed her eyes, this was so confusing! They were in the middle of a road-side woods and Yuki was a rat!! It was fortunate that her eyes were closed when Yuki changed back into human form. She felt herself sitting on his leg. She kept her eyes closed and scooted off his lap. If he was anything like her family, he would be naked when he turned back, just like everyone in her family.

"Yuki? Are you…."

"What? Oh, um…yea. How did you know?"

"Ummm…"

She suddenly felt his arms around her. Uh-oh had he figured out her secret? In two poofs of smoke there was a rat and a scorpion on the forest floor.

"This is just great!" Akari exclaimed.

"I thought so..."

"What?"

"You're the Western Zodiac! You and your family!"

"Yea, I wonder how you know..." she replied sarcastically.

In another two poofs they returned to human form. Akari grabbed at her clothes and ducked behind a bush to put them back on. Yuki slipped his suit and pants on behind a leafy tree.

"Yuki? Your tie is crooked."

She reached for his tie and fixed it correctly. His hand caught hers as she put it down.

"This shouldn't be happening. We're both zodiac. Why do we still change?" she asked him.

They had had come back into the clearing and now faced each other.

"I don't know, maybe it's only the first hug. Do you want to try again?"

"Are you being serious or just perverted?"

"Serious."

Akari sighed, "OK."

She closed her eyes and felt his warm hands circle around her waist….nothing. They waited, and waited. She put her arms around him and still, nothing happened. They released each other. Without saying anything they walked back to the car where Tohru and Kyo were waiting.

"YUKI!!!!! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME HERE WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AFTER HE CHANGES BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tohru was screaming with hysteria.

Akari ran up to Tohru and pulled the skinny girl into her arms.

"It's okay Tohru."

"wAAh!! Akari!!" Tohru wailed. "Do _you_ know what happens?"

"Yes, I do." She replied softly. "Tohru watch."

She let go of the girl and walked over to Yuki. Kyo was also watching with interest now. She wrapped her arms around Yuki, and he voluntarily did the same. Nothing happened. She heard Yuki sigh with relief, and she felt her own breathing start again. It had been for real, she could hug him! She tightened her arms and so did he. She was genuinely happy. Maybe she could be a normal girl, Even if it was only with the Sohma family.


	3. Dinner in the City

Everyone got back in the car. Though both boys' suits were a bit wrinkled now and Akari's dress was a bit dirty, but they were all happy, yes, even Kyo. He was thinking about Akari's family, the Shimura family. They would provide an alternate to Kagura. Kagura was a Sohma girl who vied for his attention because they could actually get married and hug. She was the boar and had a temper like an active volcano; Kyo spent all his days trying to avoid her. The Shimura's had other girls, so, he didn't have to settle with Kagura Sohma.

Once they arrived in Harushima Outer-city, they became ecstatic, a night in the city! It was all the four teens could ask for. They met Chris at the restaurant and settled down. The seating arrangements had been made by Chris beforehand at a round table: Kyo, Tohru, Chris, Akari, and Yuki. Akari smiled at Kyo's slight scowl, Tohru's beaming face, Chris' smirk at Kyo, and Yuki's bright eyes. She loved all of them so much even though she had only just met more than half of them.

After a filling meal, they decided to go shopping in the city. What Tohru had said on the car proved to be true, Kyo did love shopping. After he had brought some things he enjoyed the company of the stray, city cats. He smiled at their antics and bought them food from street vendors who shouted at him for wasting their pastries on stray cats. Meowing filled the streets as the five-some walked the streets of Harushima. Akari and Tohru exclaimed at the bountiful selection of silk scarves, and small charms and jewelry. The night lights of the city night life were lit in sharp, contrasting colors making the night seem like a strange day in a fantasy world. Yuki and Chris kept watch over the two girls, making sure no street thugs went near them in their delirious state of shopping. It was almost 12 O'clock when Yuki was totally rejected when he suggested going home. It wasn't until 2 that they finally agreed to go home.

Night life had ceased and it was a dark city now, they packed themselves into Yuki's car and left Chris to his car. They had congratulated him on going to a private school and said their good-byes. Of course there had been no hugs between him and Akari, Yuki made sure of that. It really wasn't a good time to turn into a scorpion. She sunk into the leather seat of Yuki's car and fell into a deep sleep. Her dreams were full of city life and what she had found out that day. Hugging a Sohma once prevented them from turning into an animal the next time it happened. It was amazing! That night, she didn't have to log onto The World to escape her distress of the curse. Her happiness had been enough to last the day, happiness that was simply spilling over in her heart, sincere, pure, happiness.


	4. The World

After the night in the city, Akari had gotten home at 3:45am. It was late and she had barely gotten on her pajamas when she fell asleep. On the car she had slept the whole way back to her apartment. Yuki had carried her halfway up the stairs when she awoke and was a little embarrassed. He didn't drop her from his arms until she had to unlock the door to her room. She could tell that he was happy to be holding her, and she was happy to be held by him. Any boy that could hug her was amazing. Yuki was extra amazing.

Akari woke up late on Sundays, she had work, but it was later than on Saturdays. She pulled on a white plaited skirt and a sky blue tank top. She hoped she would see Tohru and the Sohmas at the café again, she had told them that she worked there on Sundays too. She wanted to see Yuki the most. She missed him already, his small smile, bright eyes, and his arms. She missed his arms the most. Maybe it was unfair to Yuki because she only liked him because she could hug him…no, she really did like him. It wasn't just the hugs, it was everything about him that made her feel good inside. She smiled, and, after washing up, she left her apartment to drive to Café Himaka.

Arriving at work, Akari found that the Sohmas were present. She saw them through the glass windows that surrounded the café. As she entered the café, Yuki had stood up and had now opened the door for her. She saw people staring; it was true that Yuki looked like a god. It was true of his family and hers as well. She thought it was probably a side effect of the curse, all the members of her family and his, were all unbelievably gorgeous. Yuki and she were a celestial couple coming into the café, a god and a goddess. She felt very special holding his hand as they walked into the café. Shigure had a disapproving look on his face. But when they neared the table Yuki's arms were around her once again. Nothing happened; she smiled as she listened to his heart beat. Shigure's eyes popped out of his head, and Tohru giggled at this expression. Kyo just stared at Yuki and Akari, hugging. After Shigure recovered he became the perverted man that he was once again. When she came to the table with their orders, he said,

"Can she hug me too?!"

Yuki threatened to strangle him if he said it again. Each and every time she returned to the table he gave her puppy-dog eyes that made Tohru giggle, Kyo smirk, and Yuki to burn with anger.

"Akari? Would you like to come to the Sohma House to have dinner?" Tohru asked before leaving.

"Of course I would!" she smiled, "I would love to come. My shift is over in an hour at 12 o'clock. The afternoon shift comes in then."

"Okay, how about we meet at the park at 12:30 and walk around until dinner...Oh! Wait, I know! We should have a picnic! I'll be right back!"

Tohru ran outside and haggled with a vendor at lighting speed. Coming back in, she produced a small, woven basket.

"Kyo, what do you want to eat? Yuki? Shigure? Well, Shigure isn't going to come. He's not young enough. Heh heh, sorry Shigure!"

"What do you mean? I want to go! I want Akari to hug me too!!" Shigure whined.

"I'll have a fruit tart thing." Kyo cut in on Shigure's whining.

"I'll have a tiramisu. Thanks, Tohru." Yuki said.

"I can pay for my own desert Tohru. I work here, so I get discount and stuff…"

"No Akari, I want to pay for everyone, it's my treat!"

Akari finally gave in and asked for a small coffee cake. Shigure went home in a dismal mood as Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru left Akari to finish work for another hour.

A long hour had passed and Akari was excited to join Tohru and the two boys at the park. She pulled off her apron and hung it on a hook in the kitchen. Her manager walked in.

"Akari? I need you to stay the afternoon shift."

"But M'am, I have plans this afternoon! It's another 3 hours!"

"I'm sorry, we need you to serve at a party we're having. You're one of my best waitresses."

"M'am…"

"No buts about it Akari, would you like to keep your job?"

"Yes M'am."

Her manager walked out and Akari reluctantly pulled her apron over her head and tied the back. She didn't have her cell phone, how was she going to contact Tohru? They would think she ditched them. She wanted to see Yuki. Akari sighed; she had to keep her job. Walking out of the kitchen she saw the party enter the café. It was an adult party, probably a reunion of some sort. They were all smiling and laughing. She wished with all her heart that she was with the Sohmas and Tohru. She walked over and took orders from the glee party. After preparing the order she came out of the kitchen balancing two trays of tarts, drinks and small cakes. She saw her manager flash a smile, she wanted to strangle her. She tried to smile back, but half-choked at the effort. She was almost done serving half of the customers when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around balancing the dessert trays skillfully. It was Yuki.

"Y-yuki…" she stammered.

"Why are you still here? You were supposed to meet us 30 minutes ago?!"

He took the trays from her hands and dished out the desserts. He untied her apron and flung it on a nearby chair. He then dragged her out of the café.

"My hero!" she said sarcastically, "You just cost me my job. My manager needed me there to help…"

"Oh, I know. I guess you'll have to work at the Sohma house now."

He shrugged and smiled at her. She slugged him playfully. He took her hand and held it all the way to the park.

"YUKI! YOU'RE FINALLY HERE! KYO ALMOST RAN AWAY AND-oh, hi Akari! So glad you could make it! Where have you been?"

"Her manager 'detained' her."

_More like killed_, Akari thought. She would definitely be going on the World today, stress relief. Maybe she would ask Yuki to play with her! Since she had met the Sohmas she hadn't donned her mask for days.

After a wonderful picnic, Tohru reminded Akari of their dinner that night.

"It's at 7 o'clock; you can't be late this time Akari!"

Tohru shouted this as she and Kyo walked off. Yuki had stayed behind to walk her home. It was already 3 o'clock. He asked if they could hang out until dinner so he could walk her to the Sohma Residence. She said yes happily. This was the time to introduce him into the world! It was now or never! She was excited; she knew he would love it. After arriving at her apartment she pulled him into her computer room and shut the door so that the sound system would work better. She passed him a mask.

"Put this on."

"What is it?"

"A mask for the World, have you ever tried it?"

"No."

"Me either, I only tried it for a few minutes at a game shop. It was amazing so I thought I'd buy two masks for when my sister visits." She lied.

She played the World, she had played everyday before meeting the Sohmas. She was already on such a level that she was honored as a heroine on the game, slaying dreadful monsters in one hit. Her screen name was SCaRleTrOsE. She was literally famous, everyone knew her as the renowned SCaRleTrOsE. There was only one equal to her, SkYE. He was the best male player; she was the best female player. She wanted to start out as a beginner with Yuki; she wouldn't tell him she was famous until he figured it out for himself. He donned his mask as she slipped hers on comfortably. She had missed the World.


	5. Dinner with the Sohmas

Akari sighed as she slipped her mask off reluctantly. She watched Yuki's reaction as he took his mask off as well.

"Wow…that was amazing! It seemed so real…it was really graphic and you could smell things and touch things…"

"I knew you would like it!"

"So, who's this SkYE? If he's so macho, why doesn't he come try to beat me up?"

"Well, first you need to enter a ring competition, and secondly, you suck." She laughed.

"What? I do not suck! I'm better than you!" he struck back.

"Well, last time I checked, you had two less KO points than me." She stuck her tongue out.

"Oh? I remember I had 100 and you had 52!"

"Now you're just exaggerating! I'm way better than you!"

Their quarrel lasted until they arrived at the Sohma house. Akari burst into a fit of laughter and Yuki tried to keep a straight face but soon followed suit. They entered the front room of the house laughing and holding their stomachs. They came in on an odd scene.

"Alright Akito! I promise she won't find out-Oh! Hi Akari! You're here for dinner. Akito, this is Akari. I was just talking abou-"

"Hush Shigure, it's a pleasure to meet you Akari. Call Tohru, will you Yuki?"

"Alright."

Yuki slowly backed away and then bolted up the stairs. There was something odd about this Akito guy…she wondered what animal he was. Tohru burst into the room.

"AKARI! You're here on time!"

"Hello Tohru, yes I am on time." She smiled at the cutely, over enthusiastic girl.

"I'll go set everything up. The soup's almost ready. I mad-"

"Tohru, don't bore me with talk about cooking." Akito cut in lazily.

_Whoa_, there really was something wrong wit him! No one could resist Tohru's excited chatter; they all thought she was being extremely sweet and naïve about the dinner party. Tohru ignored him and went on prattling cheerily as she left for the kitchen. Good ol' Tohru. She smiled despite her cold feelings toward Akito. He was so…feeling less, he seemed uncaring. He didn't seem like any of the zodiac animals.

"KYO! MY LOVE! I missed you! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?!!?"

A skinny, but fierce looking girl came rushing into the room after a blur of orange hair. Yuki had silently slipped in and now tripped Kyo. The girl collapsed on top of Kyo and started to slap him.

"KYO! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!?!?!?"

She looked up noticed Akari's startled face looking down at her.

"Oh…"

She suddenly became shy and backed away from Kyo. Kyo bounced up and dashed off. The girl stood there stunned by Akari's "sudden" appearance. Yuki broke the silence.

"Akari, this is Kagura. Kagura, this is Akari, she's a friend of mine who's staying for dinner."

Kagura smiled sweetly. _Kawaii!!_ Akari thought. She smiled back.

"Let's go help Tohru in the kitchen!"

She grasped Akari's wrist with incredible strength and pulled her away, entering the kitchen, she saw Tohru and a cute boy with his face covered in flour.

"Tohru, I brought Akari to help." Kagura said quietly, suddenly the total opposite of when she had been while chasing Kyo.

She released Akari's throbbing wrist. She rubbed it gingerly.

"Akari, this is Momiji. He's the rabbit."

"She knows?!" Kagura asked, "Ooh, Ooh! I'm the BOAR! Say you love the BOAR! Please!"

She suddenly turned vicious.

"SAY IT!!!"

"Kagura, don't scare Akari!" Momiji said happily.

He smiled and wiped his face, smearing the flour even more.

"Sorry…" Kagura replied.

"Hi, I'm Momiji. I'm the rabbit! Don't you think rabbits are cute? Like me!?"

Akari laughed, _he was such a cute little boy!_

"Sure!"

He turned to Tohru, "Tohru-san? If she knows, are we allowed to hug her?"

"I guess so, I'm not sure, but, well, I don-"

"OKAY!"

Momiji launched himself at Akari.

"Watch me turn into a bunny!" he exclaimed.

He dropped into her arms and snuggled in like a rabbit would. POOF! A rabbit and a scorpion lay on the ground.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Kagura screamed, "IT'S A BUG!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Tohru picked Akari up to prevent Kagura from stepping on her.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Yuki ran into the kitchen as Kagura flew into a bag of flour. The flour filled the air and Momiji jumped happily through it, tracking paw prints all over the powdery kitchen floor. Tohru sighed and handed Akari to Yuki.

"We'd better get her somewhere safe before she turns back!" Tohru exclaimed.

Yuki grabbed her clothes and ran upstairs, scorpion in hand, to his room. He placed the clothes on his bed and was about to put Akari down on the floor when she turned back to a human. Yuki closed his eyes as Akari dressed in her flour printed clothes.

"At least it won't happen again with Momiji." he looked aggravated.

"Yuki? Are you mad? I can leave if you want me to."

"No, I'm just confused…"

"Do you need a hug?"

He sighed an okay as she dropped to the floor besides his sitting from and wrapped him in a big hug. She buried her head in his chest and he let his head rest in her soft hair. Neither of them said a word but they both knew what they felt.

Returning downstairs, Akito asked about what had happened. Yuki have him a short answer mostly shrugging it off.

"Come on Hiro! We have a guest! You have to come! Ungh!"

A small girl collapsed on the floor in the effort of pulling a sour looking young boy into the room after her. She quickly got back up and smoothed out her skirt.

"Hi, my name is Kisa. This is Hiro."

"Is she like Tohru?" the teenage boy asked, "She probably is. She looks exactly like that stupid woman, except maybe a little prettier."

"Don't say that Hiro, She's our guest." Kisa spoke up.

Akari blinked at the array of people before her.

"Hi." She replied shyly, "I'm Akari; It's so nice to meet you all."

She was speechless for once in her life. They hadn't had dinner yet and she was already awestruck with this odd family. Yuki whispered in her ear, "I bet you don't know which animals they are!" He taunted her playfully.

"If I guess before dinner correctly, you have to visit me during work at the café everyday I work there." She replied.

"Fine, what do I get if you can't guess?"

"That's for you to decide."

Yuki smiled devishly. _If_ _he did that more often he'd be even cuter_, she thought.

Tohru burst into the room.

"I finished cleaning the kitchen with Momiji and Kagura. Dinner's almost ready!"

She dashed away again.

Akari smiled, Tohru was such a sweet girl.

"Let's go help her Hiro!" Kisa begged.

Hiro gave in reluctantly, and they ran off to the kitchen.

Shigure and Akito seemed to be in heated discussion which left Yuki and Akari alone.

"Come on; let's go back to my room." Yuki said.

"OK."

They walked up slowly and closed the door behind them.

"Akari, ready to guess the zodiac?"

"Alright! I know I got it right now! I've been thinking it over!" she said dramatically.

"Well, I know you're the Rat, and Kyo's the Cat, and Momiji's the Rabbit. Kagura is the Boar, and I think Kisa-san is the Tiger. Shigure is the Dog. I really can't figure out what Hiro's animal is though."

"What about Akito?"

"Akito? I'm not sure about him. He seems kinda…oddball."

"So you don't know Hiro?"

"Yup, there are more thought right? Like the Rooster, and the Horse? And the Monkey!"

"Mmhmm, you guessed way faster than Tohru did. I'm impressed! You got them all right so far."

"Really? Oh, I also wanted to know if you had a brother."  
"Oh, um, a brother?" Yuki sighed, "His name is Ayame." He whispered the name.

"DID YOU SAY AYAME?! THAT WOULD BE _MOI_! FASHION DESIGNER EXTRAORDINAIRE! AYAME THE GREAT!!!"

A tall, thin man stalked into the room. He had long silver hair up to his waist and a slender figure like a girl's. After all, his name did mean Iris.

"Ayame, GET OUT."

"But Brother DEAREST!"

"Ayame!"

"Okay, Okay, I'll leave."

Ayame left the room.

"Never ask me about him again, please, I beg of you…"

"Did you say _NEVER_, bother Dearest? I thin-"

Yuki slammed the door closed in Ayame's face. Akari giggled.

"He's so funny! _BROTHER DEAREST!_" she imitated.

"Oh no, not you too!"

They burst into laughter over Ayame's antics.

"Does he really design clothes?"

"Yea, it's a job for a gay man."

They started laughing again.

"What is he?"

"What zodiac? Or what kind of alien?"

"Don't say that! He's your brother! What Zodiac!"  
"You have to guess."

"The Snake!" she answered decisively.

"CORRECT!"

"Wow…your family is so interesting. I wish my family were more like yours…" Akari left her sentence go, unended.

"Yuki! Akari!" Tohru could be heard calling for them from downstairs.

They walked out and headed down the stairs.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Alright Tohru, we'll be down soon, you don't have to wait at the bottom of the stairs." Akari called back.

They heard Tohru's receding footsteps and trailed down the rest of the stairs. Coming into the dining from the heats had been arranged along with pretty cutlery and crystal glasses paired with porcelain dishes. Platters of food had been placed tastefully on the table as well as small name cards with pretty designs adorning the edges. Akito sat at the head of the table, _that ought to help me figure out which animal he is_, Akari thought.

Seating arrangements:

(Hiro) (Kisa) (Kagura) (Momiji)

(Akito)

(Shigure) (Yuki) (Akari) (Tohru)

But after a great deal of thinking, she still couldn't think of an animal for such a feeling less creature like Akito.

Dinner ended as abruptly as it had started. Akito quickly got up and strode out of the room. All tension evaporated and the dinner party became more cheery and the atmosphere lightened considerably. _That's odd_, Akari thought. But she quickly dismissed the thought to join Tohru and the laughing Sohma family in their joy at having a guest over. She knew she would come to love the Sohmas. Even disagreeable Kyo, wait…where was Kyo? This hadn't occurred to her until after dinner was officially over; she questioned Yuki on the subject.

"Have you ever heard the story of the Eastern Zodiac?" he queried.

"Parts of it…"

"Well, you know how Kyo hates me? How he calls me damn rat? He says that because the rat was the one in the story who tricked the cat into believing that the celestial race was a day later than the actual date."

"Oh…poor Kyo."

"So since he's not really part of the zodiac, he isn't allowed to participate in dinner parties like this. Or any special occasions with the rest of the family."

Akari was determined to make Kyo feel better. Though he may be unresponsive most of the time, she knew she could at least try her best.


	6. Welcome to the World

SCaRleTrOsE logged on. Welcome back in green, cube-like letters appeared on the screen. She was back on the World and was determined to start another quest. Aqueva was where she had last left off, now she landed in the middle of one of the smooth blue streets. She was wearing tight black boots that rode up to her knee. Her shirt was sleeveless and made of shiny, black leather for protection; there was a fancy collar at her neck, hiding a golden amulet tucked into its scarlet frills. Her pants were the same black material and they had a design pressed into the soft leather, a fancy SR. It stood for SCaRleTrOsE. People stared as she walked to the events board. She was used to this. She was after all,_ The_ SCaRleTrOsE. She ran her finger down the posts and came upon a kind of treasure hunt. _Hmmm…sounds like fun._ She thought. She pressed her finger on the code listed for the quest event and was transported to an island. A quaint, wooden sign said Nuriki Island. It was beautiful, the perfect definition of a tropical island. _Wow, the admin. have really outdone themselves this time._ She thought. Life-like palm trees swayed in the warm, tropical breeze. Normally a person would relax in a situation like this. They would walk through the silky, white sand to a shady cabana and lie in one of its recliner chairs. Everything was perfect…that's what made it weird. It was a little too perfect. SCaRleTrOsE turned and looked behind her without moving her feet. The sun was high above in the azure sky. Turquoise water that looked like a gem in liquid form lapped at her ankles. Small, silver fish darted in front of her. She didn't dare move. Anything could happen if she did, a monster might burst forth from the sand on the serene beach. She listened and knew the first thing she had to do. She put her arms together after taking a breath and jumped into a dive that pierced the warm, shallow water before her. _Just in time_, she thought as a huge monster erupted from the very spot she had been standing at. Now his back was to her. She stood up in the water and slipped some water armor over her head onto her body, just in case some other monster decided to attack from the sea behind her. The light water armor wouldn't weigh her down either if she decided that she needed to swim. It had been specially designed as a present from the administrators when she had finished another quest of the many she had completed. She took out her arrows and shot a poison-tipped sparrow wing arrow at the confused monster's neck. The arrow transformed into a soaring sparrow and as it lodged its beak in the beast's neck it became a regular arrow again. SCaRleTrOsE smiled, she loved that arrow. The beast howled with pain. With surprising speed for its bulk it turned itself to face her.

"Hello Beastie." She grinned and unsheathed her double bladed sword.

It shimmered with reflecting sunlight and blue magic. She sprinted out of the water and across the sand to the beast. With her sword thrust forward she looked like a speeding javelin. She ran into the monster and its horrible, echoing scream filled the air as it disappeared in a cascade of pixels. A small box fell to the ground. Washing off her sword in the water she glanced at it a few times before suddenly slicing it in half with her shining sword. It was one of those boxes in a box package; she had just saved a lot of time by slicing it in half. She discovered a microchip inside. She took it out and held out her arm. On her arm was a black substance encasing her wrist up to her elbow. She pressed the chip into it, and as it embedded itself it disappeared. She smiled with satisfaction. She then switched her water armor for her regular, heavier land armor and walked to one of the cabanas. She knew she had just defeated the Island's main monster. The people at administration had their scenery done fine, but they really needed to work on their monsters. She took out a ray and toasted some of the pesky smaller imps in the cabana before sitting down. _Bleep, Bleep!_ A blinking envelope icon had appeared over her head. Without looking she grabbed the blinking icon. This icon grabbing had taken so long to perfect! She opened it with pride, knowing that she had succeeded once again to grab her mail without looking at it. Tapping it with her finger caused the game to pause. Letters blurred her vision for a few seconds before she could read what they said.

YOU HAVE RECOVERED THE

MICROCHIP, ENTER THE PORTAL

THAT WILL APPEAR IN THE CABANA

TO RETURN TO THE MAINLAND

AND RECEIVE INSTUCTIONS

TO FURTHER YOUR QUEST.

TO VISIT THE ISLAND AT LEISURE,

EMBED THIS CODE: 056982

SCaRleTrOsE pulled the number from the screen and embedded it into the same black band that contained the microchip. _When Yuki finds out that I'm SCaRleTrOsE I'll bring him here._ She thought.

She deleted the message and sat back in the cabana chair. _I think that's enough for today._

She didn't bother to step into the portal that had appeared in front of her. She pulled up the menu bar with her finger and selected log off. Nuriki Island disappeared into a black hole.

Akari pulled off her mask and yawned. She tuned off her computer and stumbled into bed. Tomorrow was Monday; she had classes at Onuku High. As she fell asleep she wished one of the Sohmas were in her classes. Even Tohru had been assigned to a different campus. She thought about how much more jealous the other girls would be if they saw her with Yuki. That night she dreamed of Onuku High on Nuriki Island. Yuki had transferred to her campus and they were having a beach party. She smiled in her sleep.


	7. Too much to handle

Akari had woken up trying to remember her dream. All she could remember was a faint outline of Nuriki Island. She also remembered that Yuki was there and it had been a really good dream. Driving to Onuku High she received a ticket from being distracted and driving through a red light. She heard the policeman mutter something about teenagers as she drove off. Parking her car in Onuku High's spacious parking lot she noticed a silver car. _Hmmm…that car seems familiar…_she thought. She couldn't pinpoint exactly where she had seen it before but when its owner stepped out she was totally shocked.

"Y-y-yuki?!"

The young man turned around, a smile lit his face.

"Akari?" he faked surprise.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on another campus? With Tohru?"

"I had to come here for an AP Bio class that the other campus didn't have. Do you know where the room is?"

"Yea…"

Akari was stunned; this was so…weird, she remembered her dream now. It had been Yuki coming to her campus. The exact thing was happening now! She walked over to Yuki and he took her hand.

"Lead the way."

She beamed up at him. He was sooooo sweet! His hand was warm and she felt safe with his hand around hers. They had both arrived early to get good parking spaces, so they had time to wander the halls, looking for Yuki's AP class.

"Are you taking any other classes?" she asked.

"Mmhmm." He nodded and took out a schedule.

"A lecture hall on something ,and three other academic classes. Then I have physical education and…life skills…."

Akari took her crumpled schedule out and compared it to Yuki's fresh, unwrinkled one.

"We have one academic class together, the life skills class, the phys. Ed class, and the lecture hall at 3 o'clock."

Yuki sighed, "There's so much more stuff on this campus than at the one Kyo and Tohru go to."

"Is that good, or bad?"

"Well, mostly good, because I have four classes with you."

She laughed, "I was thinking about how the girls in your classes will act when they see you."

He pretended to look scared and then whispered in her ear.

"I'll have to hug you the whole time to prevent them from hugging me."

He made her giggle and they both laughed.

"I found it!"

She pointed at a door in the hallway.

"Akari, we've been walking this same hallway up and down more than ten times."

"Ssh… no one's supposed to know that."

They both burst into laughter again.

"Well, I better get to class, Akari. I'll see you next period."

"Okay, Bye!"

She watched as he entered the classroom and he waved to her before he closed the door. She waved back.

"What are you doing? Hanging out with him?"

A senior girl and her intimidating friend stood in front of Akari.

"You think you can get him because you're cute? Well, I got news for you. The new boy is mine, he never was yours. You don't deserve him; he's waay out of your league."

She stalked off before Akari could say anything back to her. Akari shivered slightly as she watched her continue her jaunty walk down the hallway. Remembering the girl's icy stare she whirled around and ran down the hall. She couldn't believe she was going to do this! Nothing the girl said had got to her, it was only the last sentence made her think. She wasn't good enough for Yuki and the senior was. She was taller and had beautiful, platinum, blonde hair. She was going to cut class; you didn't have to be a senior to do Senior Cut Day, right? She knew that Yuki would be worried about her. It wasn't that she was going to get hurt if she kept talking to Yuki, she could've beaten the senior girl to a pulp. She was scared that she would affect Yuki's reputation. It was true that a lot of people respected her. She wasn't some loser girl in her school. But she still wasn't good enough for Yuki. He shouldn't have to waste his time on her. It was time he moved on to older girls that matched up to him. She sighed and walked out of the campus building. On her way out she had seen the senior girl talking to Yuki. He hadn't noticed her and she thought that he seemed interested enough. Walking to her car she didn't notice a little boy standing by her car.

"HELLO!"

Akari let out a yelp of surprise before she realized who it was.

"Momiji, you scared me."

"I'm sorry Akari-san. I was taking an afternoon walk when I noticed your car. It's a very pretty car Akari-san. What are you doing out of classes so early?"

"You don't have classes today?" She countered quickly.

"Nope, Shigure told the head teacher that I was sick so that I could help him around the house today, since Tohru's at classes. Shigure makes her do everything. She can do _everything_ sooooo good!" His eyes widened.

"Oh…"

"So, why are you out so early?"

"Ummm…"

"_Are you cutting class?!_"

"Well, that's what you're doing." Akari replied lamely.

"I'm not in classes for a good reason. What's your reason?"

_How in the world did kids get into stuff like this?_ She thought.

"Well, I, Ummm…"

"You're having trouble, hmmm…it has to be either, one, you're failing miserably. Or, two, there are bullies trying to get you. Well, you're smart, but you're also strong, like Yuki. So… I KNOW! It's _boy_ trouble! Hmmm…let me think about this for a second…Ah hah! There are girls bullying you because they like Yuki and in order to protect him, you leave! I GOT IT EUREKA!"

Akari stood open-mouthed before Momiji.

"Yup, the whole open mouth thing is a sure sign that I'm right!"

"Wow, Momiji…how do you _know_ these things?"

Akari really couldn't believe it. He was just some freshman kid. He was amazing! He just suddenly appeared and analyzed her whole situation without her saying a thing! The Sohmas really were an incredible family! But she had her doubts.

"Wait a minute, how did Yuki get in this?"

"Are you seriously _that_ oblivious? I thought you'd be better than Tohru at least…" Momiji sighed.

The suspense was horrible. She had no idea what he was talking about! He was doing this on purpose she could tell that he was enjoying it too. She grabbed his shoulders.

"Why? Tell me!!"

Momiji sighed again. "You're not going to get me to tell you if you keep _hurting_ me."

"What are you doing to him?" Yuki was suddenly there.

He ripped her hands off of Momiji's shoulders and glared at her. She knew this wasn't just about family protection.

"I didn't think you were one to break promises."

He stalked away to his car, slightly handicapped by Momiji's shorter legs. Akari collapsed to her knees behind her car, so Yuki wouldn't be able to see her. She buried her face in her hands. This would never work out. It was an odd relationship to begin with. Akari knew she had to leave. There was too much do deal with here. She had to take a break from everything.


	8. Leaving

Akari knew she had to leave. There was no other way to escape the Sohmas and Tohru. It would be for about a month or so, to think things over. Classes were almost over anyway. Thought she still had her internship and college to think about. She knew she needed the time off. She would move to an apartment at Hiroshi's place. She hadn't seen Hiroshi in a long time; he was an old friend of hers. Maybe all the newness of discovering the Sohmas was too overwhelming. She needed some time to be with old friends. She packed and called Hiroshi.

"Hey, HiroHiro?"

"Yea, who is this?"

"umm…it's Akari…umm, I kinda-"

"AKARI! You haven't called in forever! Last time I saw you was as Miss SCaRleTrOsE!" He teased her.

"Yea, it's me. Do you have a place I could stay in? Just for a month or so…"

"Yea, you down?"

"Yea…just a little…"

"Thought so, my apartments are all rented out. But you can stay in my spare bedroom like you used to."

"Yea, thanks HiroHiro."

"Hey, I told not to call me HiroHiro! Sounds to…kidish…"

"Okay Mr. Rhodes." She said playfully.

"I missed you a lot Akari. Hurry back."

"Alright HiroHiro, I missed you too. See you soon."

She hung up on him protesting to her pet name for him. Hiroshi had been one of those popular, jock guys in 9th grade, freshman year. She had dated him casually as a freshman in high school a year back, before she moved to the Tatoshi Valley, where the Shimura Residence was now. This was his sophomore summer. Like her, they were both sixteen. She left a note for the landlord of her apartment building on her room door and called her parents before leaving. Dumping her stuff into her trunk, she noticed another car pulling up behind her. _Nothing special about _that, she thought. The car door opened and then slammed shut. She slammed her trunk door in reply. The next thing that happened was totally by surprise. A think, vile tasting cloth was wrapped around her mouth and her eyes were covered by smooth, cold hands. She whirled around in her captors hands and kicked hard. The man cursed and dropped his hand from her eyes. She untied the cloth from around her head and replaced it around the man's wrists. He grunted as she kicked him to get him off the sidewalk. She pushed him into his car and watched as his partner ran off. Dialing 911, she waited for the police to arrive. Holding his hands together tightly at the same time, she grabbed some napkins she found from a restaurant and stuffed them into the man's mouth. She wondered what she looked like to a passerby, a tall girl holding a man captive in a car. He was still attempting to spit the enormous wad of napkins when the police arrived. She reported what happened and handed him over. She wondered why stuff like this happened to her. She got into her car and drove off speedily. Hiroshi's apartments were about two hours and a half away if she drove at a reasonable speed. So, she didn't, she drove at 70 mph and got there in half the time.


	9. Hiroshi Rhodes

Arriving at Hiroshi's apartment Akari got a little nervous. It was true that they hadn't seen each other for two whole years. It seemed like such a long time. The door was unlocked so Akari walked in hesitantly.

"HiroHiro?" she paused in the entrance.

"HiroHiro? Are you here? Is anyone here? HiroHiro?"

It was actually pretty clean for Hiroshi he was usually a bit messy. Suddenly two hands appeared in front of her eyes and she felt a muscular body behind hers.

"Guess who?"

"HiroHiro! That's not funny! You half scared me to death!"

The hands went to her shoulders and he spun her around. His face hadn't changed at all. She smiled at him. He looked so happy to see her.

"I missed you HiroHiro."

She put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. Hiroshi knew about the curse and kissing the other person's check had been their way of making up for hugging.

"You don't know how badly I've wanted to see you! I missed you Akari! You've gotten taller." He teased. He had always been taller than her.

Akari laughed, "Sorry about not keeping in touch with you. You look exactly the way I left you like. Except some things…"

Looking closer Akari noticed that he had gone from being a tall, awkward boy, to being closer to being a man. He was like her brother and she felt pride bloom in her heart for her friend.

"What changed?" Hiroshi asked a bit hesitantly.

Then he smiled, "Am I more buff?" He flexed his arms

She laughed at him, his thoughts were still those of a young boy even thought he looked so much older and more mature.

"You're just…I don't know…different."

"In a good way." She quickly added.

He smiled at this and led her to her room.

"It's the same one you stayed in when you ran away from home two years ago, and all those other times. So…ummm, how's your family doing?"

"They're fine. We just had a little trouble last summer with the twins, they're a handful. How was your summer?" she queried with a smile.

"It was okay. I missed your visits. Um…I was just curious, but…um…I wanted to ask if…um…you, um…"  
"HiroHiro! Stop with the 'ums'! Get on with it!"

She loved how this macho guy could stumble so trying to ask a girl a probably very simple question. She decided to help him out in his "time of need."

"What is it? Does it have anything to do with my family? My work in Harushima? What I'm doing here?"

"You don't need to help me! Ima guy, I can do it myself. That's what guys are supposed to do. They hafta ask all those darn questions!"

"Well, what is it then?" she really was getting curious now.

He finally spoke in a fast paced murmur.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Akari was shocked. She didn't think Hiroshi would care about her having a boyfriend or not. When she had broken up with him, he totally understood that it was because of the curse. Why would she get another boyfriend just to dump him again? She told this to him, and as she did, she thought of Yuki. _Oh, man._ She thought. _When Hiroshi gets to the bottom of this, there's going to be lots of explaining to do._ But Akari was afraid that Hiroshi would get mad at her for getting another boyfriend after she had dumped him. So she didn't say a word, besides, Yuki wasn't really her boyfriend. They had just sort of separated recently anyway. But as she got ready for bed after having dinner with HiroHiro, she kept wishing that Yuki was here. She knew she shouldn't wish after him when she didn't really deserve him. That night a horrible dream came to her. Yuki and Hiroshi were shouting at each other fervently. Bits of their conversation floated to her dream ears.

"Don't go near her, you rat freak!"  
"You're the one who's jealous! I can hug her!"

"Well, she used to be my girlfriend. So stay away. She would never go out with you she only came here to get away from you!"

"Operative word being USED to be your girlfriend, she likes me. You're just a friend. She was confused and needed a break, that's all."

After a restless night Akari woke up with her bed sheets tangled in her legs and sweat soaked her face and hair. What was she going to do?!


End file.
